"The best rides are the ones where you bite off more than you can chew, and live through it." Doug Bradbury

A Vacation from the Saddle

Italy may be the most travel blogged destination in the world so I’ll keep this one short and mainly photos.The sheer number of masterpieces, incredible restaurants, stunning destinations and historical sites could keep one occupied for a lifetime. We did our best to scratch the surface without driving ourselves to exhaustion.

The cities themselves are some of humanity’s greatest masterpieces.

Venice

Florence

Rome

Pisa

Naples

And the unexpected gem, that is Verona.

And of course, the food!

Fricking half-kilo of mozerela!

Gelato everywhere

Trattoria 4 Lioni in Florence, unbelievalble pesto, avocado salad.

So much pizza!

Clams and wine for cheap! in Venice.

And tiramisu, how it should be! I can’t look at this picture without drooling.

Some other favorite moments and unexpexted finds:

One of the most fascinating bookstores, Acqua Alta in Venice.

Beers over a Visuvius sunset

The wonder of Pompei.

A subterranean city under Naples.

The walls of Naples are painted with graffiti and some of it is truly art.

The map room at the Vatican.

Worth the wait!

Best use of an unridable old bike that I’ve seen.

Unlike any church in the world, The Duomo in Florence. Plus, we jumped the turnstile to climb to the top.

And the best sign for a toilet, ever.

Full of mystery, full of marvels; Italy is unlike anywhere else in the world. If you’ve not made it here, do yourself a favor and put it on your list…. in the off season (the crowds can be insane).